Bong Soo Lee v. Pacific Far East Line, Inc.

Appellee Lee brought this action to recover for personal injuries sustained while working as a standby maintenance man on appellant’s vessel. The case was presented to the jury on the theories of both negligence under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C. § 688 , and unseaworthiness under general maritime law.

The jury returned a general verdict in favor of appellee in the amount of $48,300. Appellant’s post-trial motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or, in the alternative, for a new trial, was denied.

Appellant appeals on the grounds that: (1) the evidence was insufficient to support the general verdict on the ground of unseaworthiness; (2) the jury was improperly instructed as to Lee’s status as a “member of the crew” under the Jones Act and as a result any verdict based upon negligence would be improper; and (3) assuming the challenged instruction was correct, the evidence was insufficient to support the general verdict on the ground of negligence.

Appellee is a seaman with some twenty years of experience as a ship’s refrigerator maintenance man (reefer). On April 12, 1972, he was dispatched by the union as a “standby reefer” aboard the S.S. Monterey, owned by appellant and…